Gee N Tee

So 5 years later I finally had the cash in the bank, some sailing courses taken, not that I considered myself an expert, quite the opposite, but I was at least ready to take her out with a bit off help as long as the weather wasn’t too bad. I had read and read about what yachts would suite me, it had to be as roomy as possiblee, yet inexpensive and also have as much room as possible. Originally I had my heart set on a Shipman 28, I thought they looked beautiful and were within my price range, it was a visit on my Dad’s Gib Sea 34 that changed my mind, it was the beam that made all the difference. So back to the forums and I found a great article which listed a lot of boats that might be of interest:

Macwester 27 – Too small inside
Shipman 28 – Too narrow
Scampi 30 – similar to a trapper 500, not as many but looks good
1972 Super Arlequin – can’t find another one of these
Van De Stadt Invicta 26 / Pioneer 9 – 26 foot, looks too small
Trapper 500 – Excellent, #1 choice at the moment
Cutlass 27 – possibly too small
Sabre 27 – another possibly too small, lose berth under cockpit
Halcyon 27 – Only 27 foot, lose bunk under cockpit, no central table
Albin Vega – Only 27 foot, lose bunk under cockpit, no central table.
Pegasus 800 – can’t find an 800, all I can see are too small
Flipper – Can’t find this at all, only seems to be a motorboat (spits).

The notes are my own with some of my reasoning as to why I didn’t chose the particular one. After looking through a lot of adverts on line I came to the conclusion that a Trapper 500 would be about my best choice, they were well respected and liked by current and previous owners. After looking at a lot of broker’s websites I finally booked a viewing. At first sight it was set I think, at least as much as I can be set on anything first time. After the offer, agreement and survey followed by some work and a quick antifoul she was ready to go in the water. Now I just had to take her out for the first time.